Magic-Smithing-Chapter 121.5

With a wet thump, the winged serpent's severed head impacted the dry forest floor and began to bleed all over the place. Its single eye was still spinning wildly as the rest of its body twisted and thrashed without its head.

Aaliyah was still gripping its soul with her skill, so she could feel the exact moment its life force froze and began to fade. However, with a lesser dragon’s Vitality powering it, the snake stayed cognizant for well over a minute. During that time, Aaliyah and Tabitha watched reality creep in for the winged serpent. They watched as it realized it was dying, and the fear that came with that revelation.

Tabitha tried multiple times to do the right thing and put the beast out of its misery, but the severed head snapped at her every time she approached it, forcing her to give up. It was sad for them to watch, but even as a severed head, the snake was still extremely dangerous, and they didn't survive the battle to die due to a stupid mistake.

Slowly, the light dimmed behind the winged serpent’s remaining eye, and its head and body stopped twitching. Aaliyah felt the lesser dragon’s soul struggle to escape her skill’s grip; she had to will her spectral hands to let go before the main part of the lesser dragon’s soul winked out of existence.

Then came the tidal wave of experience.

“Tabitha,” Aaliyah beckoned her friend to her side as Soul Devourer started absorbing large quantities of experience, and the initial reward for killing the lesser dragon fused with their souls.

Tabitha briefly looked concerned at the ghostly arms still sprouting out of Aaliyah’s back as she approached, but that didn’t stop her from reaching down and helping her young apprentice to her feet.

“What are you doing?” She asked calmly, if critically. Tabitha could see Aaliyah’s spectral arms, but her version of Sense Soul was only at level 1, and she couldn't see the massive amount of experience flooding their surroundings. To her, it looked like Aaliyah’s skill was flailing out of control and grasping wildly at thin air.

“Thanks,” Aalyiah rasped as Tabitha helped her up, and the first wave of extra experience impacted her soul. “I’m absorbing as much of the winged serpents' experience as possible," Aaliayh explained tiredly. The only reason she wasn’t unconscious due to mana exhaustion was that the potion she drank was still powering her mana regain, if only for a little bit longer.

“You can do that?” Tabitha’s eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets, and she nearly dropped Aaliyah as she processed that critical bit of important information. “Your skill works on things other than ghosts?”

“Yep,” Aaliyah smiled through the exhaustion before grabbing tightly onto Tabitha’s shoulder. “But there’s too much for me to handle by myself, so I’m going to transfer as much as I can to you. Let me know if it becomes too painful.”

“You’re wa—?” Tabitha’s voice quivered as Aaliyah started sharing the experience she was absorbing.

There was so much available; it was frankly ridiculous. Over its lifetime, the winged serpent had absorbed roughly 356 million experience points to reach level 133. Now, all that experience was up for grabs, and Aaliyah felt it was only right that they were properly rewarded for slaying a lesser dragon.

Each transparent limb of Soul Devourer only needed to stretch out and close its ghostly hands to grab hundreds of thousands of experience points at once.

For reference, at level 85, Aaliyah had only absorbed 29 million experiences in her lifetime. Tabitha was slightly more impressive, sitting at 86 million at level 105, but even together, they didn't equate to a third of the winged serpent.

If Aalyiah could absorb all of it and split it evenly between Tabitha and herself, it would rocket them into the 120s range. Sadly, that was just a fantasy. Even with her hands grabbing everything they could, the experience wasn't just sitting around waiting to be absorbed. It was dispersing, reinvigorating the dead landscape as it did so, jumpstarting the ecosystem.

Even if the experience wasn’t dispersing, Tabitha and Aaliayah's souls wouldn’t have been able to withstand such a weight. And that wasn’t even factoring in Aaliyah’s skill levels. Neither Soul Devourer nor Experience Transfer allowed for a one-to-one transference of experience points.

Aaliyah could only absorb a fraction of the whole, but that was still enough to propel her and Tabitha to even greater heights. She was able to absorb millions upon millions of experience points until she and Tabitha were doubling over in equal parts pain and pleasure, their souls flooded with the stuff.

The two collapsed arm in arm, enduring the sensations radiating throughout their bodies together, knowing no matter how uncomfortable they were, it would all be worth it in the end.

Aaliyah was too discombobulated to pull up her status page and count the experience as it rushed into her, but she absorbed a staggering 94 million of the snake's 356 million experiences. Her soul could only handle 14 million of it, while the rest was given to Tabitha, with nearly half of that being lost during the transfer.

“That was—Wow.” Tabitha was panting more from the experience rush than from killing the winged serpent. "You couldn't have given me more of a warning?” She huffed as Aaliyah’s Soul Devourer skill deactivated and the ghostly hands vanished into nothingness.

Both were left with slight pains in their chests, but it wasn't as bad as it was with the soul horrors.

“Sorry, I’ll remember that the next time we almost die,” Aaliyah couldn’t help but sassily retort as she pulled up her status page. Tabitha had given her a hard time for not doing so after saving her life from the soul horrors, and she didn't want to make the same mistake again. And, oh boy, was she left stunned by what she found.

LV: 92 Experience: 1,995,780/ 2,417,735

Health: 1,981.64/2,720

Stamina 174.38/1,883

Mana: 129.11/1,150

Vitality: 272.00

Endurance: 100.48

Strength: 193.00

Dexterity: 188.00

Senses: 62.81

Mind: 65.73

Magic: 115.00

Clarity: 79.40

Status Points: 70

Skills:

Tier 1:

Meditation (LV81), Running (LV80), Blacksmithing (LV76), Hammer Skills (LV72), Axe Skills (LV60), Cleaning (LV60), Chanting (LV54), Mining (LV51), Drawing (LV48), Trading (LV48), Cooking (LV47), Sword Skills (LV40), Acting (LV36), Wood Carving (LV36), Dagger Skills (LV35), Dancing (LV35), Sewing (LV34), Pugilist Skills (LV16), Alchemy (LV15), Spear Skills (LV2)

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Tier 2:

Sense Mana (LV81), Double Step (LV69), Hammer Arts (LV51), Charm (LV50), Measurement (LV50), Axe Arts (LV39), Steady Hands (LV37), Mathematics (LV35), Intimidating Shout (LV34), Writing (LV32), Increase Price (LV22), Lower Price (LV20), Sword Arts (LV17), Gourmet (LV16), Dagger Arts (LV13), Marching (LV5), Shout of Valor (LV3), Pugilist Arts (LV1)

Tier 3:

Mana Manipulation (LV67), Expel Mana (LV64), Weighted Strike (LV48), Double Strike (LV46), Precise Strike (LV46), Flash Step (LV40), Contract (LV22), Poison Resistance (LV14), Enchanting (LV12), Heat Resistance (Lv3)

Tier 4:

Mental Resistance (LV63), Mana Skin (LV61), Inject Mana (LV57), Extract Mana (LV40), Magic Blacksmithing (LV38), Magic Threads (LV34), Air Walk (LV24), Empowered Spell (LV23), Ironclad Agreement (LV8), Multi-Strike (LV10), Appealing Deal (LV3),

Tier 5:

Sense Soul (LV42), Soul Manipulation (LV24)

Tier 6:

Soul Devourer (LV21), Experience Transfer (LV10)

Increased Skill Levels

Cleaning (LV59-60) 5,950exp

Chanting (LV54) 2,700exp

Dancing (LV34-35) 3,450exp

Double Step (LV69) 6,900exp

Hammer Arts (LV51) 5,100exp

Measurement (LV50) 5,000exp

Mathematics (LV32-35) 13,400exp

Empowered Spell (LV23) 5,750exp

Multi-Strike (LV9-10) 4,750exp

Sense Soul (LV42) 21,000exp

Soul Manipulation (LV24) 12,000exp

Soul Devourer (LV19-21) 60,000exp

Experience Transfer (LV4-10) 49,000exp

Skill Experience: 195,000exp

Crafting Experience: 0exp 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Fighting Experience: 14,597,388exp

Total Experience Gained: 14,597,388exp

“Goodbye 80’s, I barely knew you— hello 90’s,” Aaliyah mumbled to herself.

“What was that?” Tabitha asked.

“Just checking my status page; guess who gained another seven levels?” Aalyiah playfully grinned. “What, haven’t checked yours yet?” She asked a tad smugly.

“I’m almost afraid to,” Tabitha deadpanned in her usual voice.

Aaliyah began to laugh but quickly stopped when she realized her teacher was serious. "Really, you aren’t joking?” She was stunned, speechless—figuratively speaking.

When Tabitha didn’t say anything, Aaliyah shrugged. “Want me to look at your soul? I’m not sure how accurate I’ll be, but I can give you an estimate,” she asked half-jokingly.

“Thanks, but no,” Tabitha droned, rolling her eyes hard. “I’m just nervous.”

“You do realize we just killed a dragon, right?”

“A lesser dragon,” Tabitha politely corrected.

“Whatever,” it was Aaliyah’s turn to roll her eyes. “We deserve it,” she stated proudly.

“Do we?” Tabitha focused on the air in front of her, the same look everybody got when checking their status page. "Leveling up this fast is unnatural. A few days ago, I was level 98, but now—Now I'm level 111 and have two tier 5 skills. You wish me to keep your secrets, but how will we do that now? We can't hide our levels."

“You unlocked another tier 5 skill; congratulations,” Aaliyah beamed goofily, ignoring the heavy talk for as long as possible.

“Don’t try to change the subject,” Tabitha held firm. “I wasn’t expecting to survive our battle with the winged serpent. You can joke that we were lucky, but what do you plan on doing now that we have? As soon as we leave the clearing, there’s no going back,” she told Aaliyah a tad ominously.

“Honestly?” Aaliyah tiredly leaned her full weight against her more petite, armored teacher. “I wasn’t expecting we’d survive either. I've been winging it since we first escaped the winged serpent. I have no idea what we’re supposed to tell people once we get back….. All I know is, I really want to hug my family.”

“Is that so?" Tabitha replied with little emotion before Aaliyah heard a subtle shift in her voice. “I also surprisingly find myself missing my time in your small village. I think it’s time we end this adventure of ours.”

"Thank the gods," Aaliyah sighed loudly before looking at the winged serpent's unmoving form in front of them. “I take it we aren’t leaving any of it behind.”

Tabitha snorted. “Don’t even joke. Do you have any idea how valuable that corpse is?”

Aaliyah didn't, and her facial expression said as much.

“Right,” Tabitha quickly corrected herself, her cheeks turning a faint pink color. "Sometimes, I forget how clueless you are to the wider world.”

“Hurtful, but true.” Aaliyah nodded along.

Clearing her throat, Tabitha gestured at the corpse of the winged serpent. “I shouldn’t need to tell you that higher-level monster parts are extremely valuable. As they go up in level, so does their price.”

Tabitha took the time to explain to Aalyiah that magic beasts between levels 90 and 100 were considered semi-rare but still regularly appeared in larger markets and capital cities. It was monsters around level 110 and above, which were truly rare, only ever appearing for sale once or maybe twice a year max. Anything much higher than that rarely went to the open market, and when they did, there was almost always a bidding war.

“So, what do people do when they slay a lesser dragon?” Aaliyah asked innocently and immediately realized how ridiculous her question was.

“They don’t,” Tabitha answered blandly before giving Aaliyah a proper answer. “If by some miracle a group does manage to kill a beast as strong as this one, they don’t openly advertise the fact until they’ve already sold everything off. It takes time; there are channels people must go through to sell such high-class materials.”

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t try to sell any of it to my merchant pals,” Aaliyah grinned cheekily.

"No," Tabitha states seriously without a hint of jest.

“Think we can get some good armor made out of its hide?” Aaliyah gestured at the back half of the beheaded snake. No longer held in place by a mana zone, the venom covering it was slowly dispersing, revealing the winged serpent's pale green scales underneath.

“We'd better,” Tabitha answered slowly, sounding tired. "Other than my shield, my armor is one good hit away from being destroyed.”

Aaliyah could hear the pain in her master's voice. Tabitha loved her armor; it was a fight just to get her to take it off. It had to hurt, knowing it needed to be scrapped. That said—

“If you don’t mind me asking, what will you do with your old set once the new one is made?" Aalyiah asked suggestively, looking like she might start drooling over the dented metal.

“You’re relentless,” Tabitha sighed resignedly.

“What?” Aaliyah pretended to be offended. “Can’t a girl just want to look at some runes?”

“I thought you had your bracelet to examine? Speaking of which—” Tabitha suddenly became deathly serious. “I couldn’t help but notice the new addition to your spectral arms. I don’t suppose it’s a coincidence they are all sporting replicas of the one on your wrist?”

“I noticed that too,” Aliyah glanced nervously down at her right arm, and the bracelet she sometimes forgot was even there. "When using my skills, I could feel it boosting them. I don’t think I would’ve been able to make the winged serpent pause for as long as I did or absorb as many experience points if it wasn't helping me. I don’t know how to feel about it, but at the same time, I know it saved us.”

Tabitha hums thoughtfully after hearing Aaliyah’s explanation. “You’re right to be cautious, but remember this: like a sword, your bracelet is a tool. It is neither good nor evil; the only thing that matters is how you use it.”

Yeah, Aaliyah wasn’t 100% sure that applied to this situation. Until she was absolutely sure there wasn’t an eldritch monster or a slain god hidden inside, Aaliyah was going to treat the bracelet like it had a will of its own. But she understood where Tabitha was coming from. “I’ll keep that in mind.” That was the best she could do.

After that, the two sat in silence for a minute, using the time to come to terms with their victory, but as much as both would love to pass out then and there, they couldn’t.

“So, if neither of us has a plan, what should we do now?" Aaliyah asked, struggling to keep her eyes open.

“I suppose we take it one step at a time,” Tabitha answered matter-of-factly. “I suggest we start by distributing our free stat points to expedite our recovery. Just because the winged serpent is dead doesn't mean we're out of the magic-dense region yet.”

“I can get behind that," Aaliyah quickly agreed and pulled up the first half of her status page again. She could feel the potion's effects fading fast and knew she was moments away from blacking out. But immediately after distributing most of her points, Aaliyah felt a second rush of energy hit her. It was like drinking a dozen cups of coffee without any nasty side effects.

LV: 92 Experience: 1,995,780/ 2,417,735

Health: 2,459.73/3,000

Stamina 191.83/2,000

Mana: 282.46/1,300

Vitality: 300.00

Endurance: 100.48

Strength: 200.00

Dexterity: 200.00

Senses: 62.81

Mind: 65.73

Magic: 130.00

Clarity: 79.40

Status Points: 8

It was a good thing she distributed her points as she did. Other than rounding out her stats to nice, even numbers, she had to face the backlash now that the potion's effects were no longer boosting Aaliayh's mana regain. Her mana regain was reduced to almost nothing, or it would have been if Aaliyah hadn’t put another 15 points into her Magic stat.

Her mana pool was still circling the drain, but at least it was recovering a teeny bit faster than if she hadn’t.

Next to Aaliyah, Tabitha went through a similar metamorphosis. Her posture straightened, she stopped breathing heavily, and her skin started to glow with increased Vitality.

“Still think our leveling is unnatural?” Aaliyah wagged her eyebrows.

“Yes,” Tabitha didn’t think twice before answering. “However, I’ll admit I can see the benefits,” she noted while flexing her hands testily.

“Does that mean we should start processing the winged serpent?” Aaliyah had to force herself to smile. While she no longer felt like a zombie and could move around, she wasn't ready to dive into the colossal task of butchering the 300-foot beast.

Tabitha noticed her student’s apprehension, glanced up at the sky, and nodded in understanding. “No, I think that can wait until tomorrow. It's midday; even if we rushed, we couldn't process half of the snake before sunset. We should take this time to search around the perimeter of the winged serpent’s territory for any threats and to see if we can find anything to eat.”

Aaliyah liked the sound of that. She was starving and was a little concerned about how delicious the snake's head was starting to look. All that meat just waiting to be cooked over an open fire—she didn't care that it was likely to kill her; her stomach demanded nourishment.

“Yeah, let’s do that before my stomach makes me do something stupid.”

“Stupider than usual?” Tabitha joked in a monotone voice.

“I’m going to say yes,” Aaliyah smiled brightly. She was tired, but not too tired to joke back and forth with Tabitha, which felt like a massive weight off her shoulders after their nerve-racking time underground. Aaliyah felt like she could be her usual, goofy self again, so she kept smiling.

Aaliyah smiled the whole time she and Tabitha scavenged for food. She smiled even wider while she cooked the large mushrooms they found at the base of one of the massive trees. Her smile didn’t fade, even as she beifly had to crawl back into the ruins to retrieve their stuff and set up camp for the night next to the corpse of their vanquished foe.

She smiled up at the stars as the sun vanished overhead and fell asleep with a massive grin on her face, as Tabitha was kind enough to take the first watch.

For the first time in over a week, Aaliyah slept without dreaming of dying against the winged serpent. They had a long walk ahead of them to leave The Endless Forest, but at least now they could see the light at the end of the tunnel.